It is rare indeed when a linebacker takes a look across the line of scrimmage and thinks to himself, “That guy is so tough, he could be one of us.’’

Defensive players usually believe they have the patent on toughness. But not with the running back the winless Giants must deal with Monday night.

“Everybody knows that Adrian Peterson is a special player,’’ said linebacker Jon Beason, getting ready for this third game with his new team. “I like to tell people he should be playing on the defensive side of the ball with his determination, the way he plays every down like it’s his last. I love to watch him play football. It’s a big challenge, but it’s an opportunity to do something great.’’

Peterson usually is the one doing the something great, but not so much when he faces the Giants. The NFL Most Valuable Player in 2012, Peterson has played against the Giants three times in his seven-year career and he hasn’t wrecked those games as he has so many others. In 2008 his 103 yards were misleading, as on 20 rushing attempts he gained just 36 yards but on one second-quarter run he scored on a 67-yard touchdown. In 2009, the Giants limited him to nine carries and 54 yards, and in 2010 they put the hammer down on Peterson, as he managed only 26 yards on 14 carries.

“I think everyone would say he’s the best back in the league,’’ Justin Tuck said. “The thing about him is I’ve played him three times and it just seems like you can play him pretty good for three quarters or for 75 or 80 percent of the runs he has, it’s that one play where he takes it for 70 that makes your rushing stats look [terrible].

“He’s that dynamic. You’ve got to play your best run defense against him every play, and if you don’t, he’s the type of back that can take it home.

“Nobody can get in a lull saying, ‘We’re shutting him down,’ because once you start thinking that he finds a way to cut back and break a tackle and he’s off to the races, and I haven’t seen anybody catch him.’’

Peterson is the main impediment standing in the way of the Giants and that long-awaited first victory of the season. The Vikings will go with their third starting quarterback in seven games, inserting Buccaneers castoff Josh Freeman into an offense that figures to be watered down some, directed by a player who has been with the team for only a few weeks.

The Vikings (1-4) are coming off a 35-10 loss to the Panthers, and the lopsided score meant Peterson received just 10 rushing attempts (62 yards). It was his first game after his 2-year old son died in Sioux Falls, S.D., after an alleged case of child abuse. Peterson said he learned the boy was his son only months ago. This week, Peterson hasn’t practiced much because of a sore hamstring.

The Giants are only 24th in the league in run defense, but in a season in which they have been terrible on many levels, their work against opposing running backs has hovered around acceptable. Since allowing 120 yards to DeAngelo Williams of the Panthers, the Giants have not been ravaged by the Chiefs’ Jamaal Charles (65 yards), the Eagles’ LeSean McCoy (46) or the Bears’ Matt Forte (67).

Encouraging for the Giants? Perhaps, but Peterson is unlike anyone else.

“I think he’s a different guy,’’ defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said. “I watched him in the offseason study and he’s really good. I see guys hit him, tackle him, beat him up, punch him and he just keeps coming. He’s got an iron will and he’s just a strong runner and he’s got a great determination to make those yards, and so we all have to be on the same page. We’ll have to swarm tackle. We’ll have to gang tackle. We’ll have to see what we hit and hit what we see.’’